Apparatus for making castings.



No. 758,660. 7 PATENTED MAY 3, 1904.

' W. T. JAMES.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING GASTINGS.

. APPLICATION FILED HAY 13, 1902.

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- I|||\Hlllllllllilllllllllll UNITED STATES Patented May 3, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM T. JAMES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. V

APPARATUS FOR MAKING CASTINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 758,660, dated May 3,1904.

Application filed. May 13, 1902. Serial No. 107,102. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VVILLIAM THOMAS JAMES,

a citizen of the United States of America, residing in Chicago, countyof Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful'Improvements in Apparatus for Making Castings, of which the following,taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

This invention has for its primary object the provision of an apparatusfor making castings, where a large number of castings of likeconfiguration are to be made, as for example,

in the casting of pig iron, and whereby such apparatus will bepractically automatic and continuous in its operation, and will formsuch castings at a minimum cost, and with maximum rapidity, and which atthe same time can be constructed in a space much less than has beenrequired for mechanism of this class heretofore made, which is familiarto me.

A further object of this invention is the provision of an apparatus ofthe type specified, in which may be employed two connected concentricrings,vin combination with wheel supports for such rings, so that therings may revolve about acenter which will be free from spokes or otherconnections, thus permitting the use of driving mechanism in suchcentral space, which can be readily geared to such rings from suchlocation. r r

Afurther object of this present invention is the provision of anapparatus of the kind referred to, in which two concentric connectedrings are employed carrying double molds mounted between the rings, ongears which engage suitable racks uponthe upper surface of the rings,and which by means of suitable inverting mechanism, operate to turn themolds upside down, so as to dump the contents thereof at a certainpredetermined point.

Still another object of thisinvention is the construction of theapparatus last above described, in combination with mechanism forreceiving the castings after they are formed, and automatically loweringthem into a cooling bath, and afterward taking them out of such bath andplacing them in conveying mech-.

anism which carries them to their immediate destinatlon.

Theabove, as well as such other objects as may hereinafter appear, Iattain by means of a construction which I have illustrated in preferredform in the accompanying drawings,

, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of an apparatus embodying myimprovements, omitting part of v the rack, the receiving trays, and mostof the molds, for clearness,

Figure 2 is a plan view of a section of the apparatus shown in Figure 1,drawn on a larger scale,

Figure 3 is a side elevation showing a-sec-. tion of the apparatus uponthe outside, that is, showing the outside ring,

Figure4 is a like view of the. inside ring and the driving rack attachedthereto,

Figure 5 is a transverse vertical sectional viewthrough the tWoconcentric rings, showing the relative arrangement of the same and themounting of them upon suitable wheel supports,

Figure 6 is a view of a certain portion of the mechanism showing thelocation of the invertible moldson the top of the rings, and the traysdesigned to catch. the castings as they are dumped out of the molds, andmechanism for operating the trays to raise and lower the same; into andout of the cooling bath,

Figure 7 is an enlarged view showing the method of mounting theinvertible molds upon thegearsor tooth racks on the upper side oftheconcentric rings, and the shifting mechanismemployed for invertingthe said molds, and i Figure 8 is a view indicating diagrammatically anoutside elevation of the rings mounted in a somewhat inclined or sloping"plane, in.

conjunction with the mechanism employedfor carrying off the castings orpigs after they are finished.

Referring now particularly to Figures 1 and 5, it will be seen that incarrying out my invention I provide first two concentric rings markedrespectively 9 and 10, the inner one 10 having secured near the loweredge thereof a rack 11, which is adapted to engage with suitable drivingmechanism hereinafter to be more particularly described. The rings asshown are preferably formed of I-shape in cross section, and can be madeof some structural steel material, and are supported below by rails 12and 13, which rest upon wheel supports 14 and 15, carried in axles l6and 17, that are journaled in brackets or pedestals 18 and 19, as shown.As many of these wheel supports may be employed as desired. I haveindicated by dotted lines in Figure 1 the use of ten such bearings.

On the upper edges of the rings 9 and are mounted racks 20 and 21, uponwhich rest the gears 22, which carry the double molds 23 in the mannershown, the shafts or central portions of the axles upon which the gearsare mounted extending to the outside of the ring 9, as indicated at 24,and being provided with projections 25, adapted to engage stop pins 26,fixed in certain predetermined places, when it is desired to invert themolds. The molds are placed close together all the way around the rings,as indicated in Figure 1 for a portion of the circumference of the ring,which is all that is thought necessary therein to show, except that atone point there is aspace left between two adjacent molds, as forexample at the place marked 27, which is substantially the same in widthas the width required for the inversion of a mold, or equal to the widthof one mold. The purpose of this space is to permit the molds each inturn to be inverted by the stop pins 26, when they come around in therevolution of the rings to a point where the projections 25 engage thestop pin, it being evident that so long as the molds are placedtogether, as shown, they cannot be inverted except as they come to thisposition.

28 indicates a pouring ladle arranged adjacent to the rings, so as topour the metal into the molds, and 29 indicates carrying devices fortaking the castings after they are formed and delivering them into thechute 30, which in turn empties into the car or other transferringapparatus 31.

The rack 11 which is secured to the inner ring 10 is adapted to engagewith the pinion 32, which is in turn, through a series or chain ofgears, driven by means of the motor 33, which mechanism all can beplaced within the center of the two concentric rings, since there are nospokes or other cross connections upon the inside of the inner ring, therings being guided around in their circular path by means of the flanges34, on the wheel supports 14.

The space between the rings along the lower part thereof, is providedwith a plurality of receiving trays pivoted on shafts 41, as indicatedin Fig. 6, so that they can be raised and lowered to be brought out ofor let down into the cooling bath 42, shown in Figure 5. When inposition in the cooling bath they rest upon the lateral projection 43,but when raised are carried by means of the shafts 41. The shafts 41extends outside of the outer ring 9, and carry upon their outer endsarms 44, which are provided with rollers 45 in the nature of tappetsthat are made to engage with a pro jection bearing face 46, in a certainportion of the travel of the rings, so as to raise and lower thereceiving trays 40 when required. In or. der to insure the falling ofthe castings into these receiving trays guard flanges or walls 47 areprovided, as shown, in Figure 6.

The operation of my invention is substantially as follows:

The rings being set in motion by means of the motor 33, are caused torevolve continuously around upon the wheel supports, while the metal ispoured from the pouring ladle 28 into the molds which project upwardly,the molds then traveling around until they come to the space marked 27,where the tripping stops 26 are placed, which engage the arms 25, and bymeans of the gears 22 engaging the racks 20 and 21, serve to invert themolds, at the same time that the molds are advanced the width of onemold, that is, into position adjacent to the next mold forward of theone inverted, each mold in turn being turned upside down by this meansat this same place, and dumping or discharging its contents into thereceiving tray immediately underit, which is then caused automaticallyto operate by means of the mechanism indicated in Figures 5 and 6, toraise until it reaches the cooling bath, when it is lowered into thesaid bath and continues to travel around in the cooling bath until nearthe end thereof, when like mechanism, operating on the arm 44 and tappet45, raises the receiving tray out of the cooling bath, and causes thecontents of the tray to be dumped by sliding down onto the conveyer 29,which carries the casting up and discharges it onto the chute 30. Thusthe operation of my invention is not only continuous, but is in allrespects automatic, since the metal as it is poured into the molds formsthe casting therein, and the molds are automatically inverted, thecasting falling into the receiving tray which is then automaticallybrought into contact with the cooling bath, and then again automaticallylifted out of the cooling bath, and the receiving tray is so operated asto dump the contents thereof onto a conveyer which delivers the castinginto the point or receptacle intended for it.

The advantage of the mounting of the invertible molds on the gears andrack as shown 'will now be apparent, since it is evident that by thisarrangement the molds can be placed together as shown, and by leavingbut the room of one space between adjacent molds at one point around thecircumference of the two concentric rings the molds can be inverted bythe tripping mechanism as already described, and this does not requirethat the molds shall be separated from each other a distance suflicientto permit the inversion independently of each one. Thus a very largeamount of IIO space is saved, making it possible to put a given numberof molds on a very much smaller pair of rings, than is possible wheremolds of this character are mounted on trunnions carried on revolvingWheels or tables, as has been proposed in the devices of. the prior artknown to me;

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In casting apparatus the combination with a pair of movable circularracks and means for moving the same, of a series of reversible m'oldsmounted upon said racks, rest-' ing upon pinions on said racks, andmeans for inverting said molds by rolling them on said pinions.

2. The combination of two traveling concentric racks, a series ofinvertible molds mounted to roll upon said racks, and means for movingthe. racks and for dumping the molds, substantially as described.

3. A casting apparatus comprising in combination two connectedconcentric rings, wheel supports for said rings, and invertible moldsmounted between said rings, upon gears engaging racks upon the uppersurfaces of said rings, substantially as described.

4. A casting apparatus comprising in combination invertible moldscarried upon gears, and racks for supporting said molds, substantiallyas described.

5. A casting apparatus comprising in combination invertible moldscarried upon gears, circular racks for supporting said molds, andmechanism for inverting said molds, substantially as described.

6. A casting apparatus comprising in combination two concentricconnected rings, a plurality of molds mounted upon said rings, arrangedadjacent to each other, but with one space equal to the Width of onemold left vacant, gears carrying said molds, racks carrying said gears,and mechanism for inverting the molds when the same reach the pointwhere the tripping apparatus is located, substantiallyas described.

7 The combination with a pair of circular rings carrying a seriesofinvertible molds thereon, means for inverting the molds, a series oftrays pivoted in the rings under the said molds to receive the contentsof the same, a partially circular cooling-tank for water under saidtrays, and means for automatically raising the said trays and loweringthem to dip the trays in the coolingtank as the said rings are revolved,substantially as described.

8. The combination with a traveling circular support, a series ofinvertible molds resting upon said support and rolling thereon to invertthe same and to progress along the surface of the same,in combinationwith a cooling bath under said support and a series of dipping trayswith means for dipping said trays into said cooling bath, and a seriesof guide flanges 47 to direct the contents of the molds intosaid trays.

9. In casting apparatus the combination of a ring provided with a rack,a continuous series of molds having pinions on their axes and placed injuxtaposition on said rack with a ;space at one point of the ring.between the molds,- and means for inverting the molds by rolling them onthe rack.

10. In casting apparatus the combination with a rack for supporting amold, of a mold provided with an axis having a toothed pinion to rollupon said rack, and means by which the mold is inverted by tripping itand rolling it forward on the rack.

11. In casting apparatus the combination with a movable circular ringsupport for a series of molds, of a mold thereon mounted upon a rack andprovided with an axis having a pinion and means for inverting the moldby rolling it forward on the rack in the direction of motion of therack. v

12. In molding apparatus the combination with a continuous movable ringcarrier, of a series of invertible molds mounted to roll upon said ringand means for tripping the said molds, the molds being in contact witheach other continuously around the circumference of said ring except atone point, where there is a space by which a mold may turn over withoutdisturbing the other molds.

13. In casting apparatus the combination with a revolving carrier ringprovided with racks on its upper surface, of a series of molds restingupon said racks and provided with pinions cooperating therewith and withtripping means to invert the molds at a particular point of their travelaround the ring.

l4 In casting apparatus a mold provided with a tripping device and ajournal having a gear thereon in combination with a toothed rack forbearing and tripping said gear to invert the mold.

15. In casting apparatus the combination with a traveling open centeredring support, a series of invertible molds thereon, a series ofreceiving trays carried by said ring and means attached to the ring fordipping the said trays in a cooling bath and raising them again,substantially as described.

16. In casting apparatus the combinatio with a continuous moving opencentered double ring carried upon fixed rollers and provided with acircular rack for driving the same, a series ofv invertible moldsmounted upon the top of said ring and supported upon a rack upon saidring, said molds being provided with pinions, and said ring beingprovided with tripping means whereby the molds are tripped, carryingtrays supported upon said ring and having means for raising and loweringthe same, and a circular tank for the purpose of dipping and coolingsaid trays, substantially as described.

17. In casting apparatus the combination withatraveling circular toothedrack for bear- In testimony whereof I have hereunto set ing a series ofmolds, of a mold thereon havmy hand in the presence of two subscribinging two like sides and being provided With a Witnesses.

shaft having a gear Wheel whereby the mold WILLIAM T. JAMES. is invertedby rolling on said rack, and sta- Witnesses: tionary means for revolvingthe shaft of the PAUL CARPENTER,

mold for the purpose of inverting the same. PHILIP J. FINNEGAN.

